Shelving arrangement for a refrigerator door



March 21, 1961 v. E. COMBS 2,976,098

SHELVING ARRANGEMENT FOR A REFRIGERATOR DOOR Filed March 17, 1958 2heets-Sheet 1 March 21, 1961 v. E. coMBs 2,976,098

SHELVING ARRANGEMENT FOR A REFRIGERATOR DOOR Filed March 17, 1958 2Sheets-Sheet 2 SHELVIN G ARRANGEMENT FOR A REFRIGERATOR DOOR Virgil E.Combs, Evansville, Ind., assignor to Whirlpool Corporation, acorporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 721,830

3 Claims. (Cl. 312-214) This invention relates to a removable shelvingarrangement forarefrigerator door.

It has been customary for a number of years to pro vide the inner sideofthe door of a refrigerator with an inner surface cavity for the storageof articles in order to increase the capacity of the refrigerator. Ithas also been customary to provide such doors with removableshelveslocated in the cavity so that the shelves may be moved from oneposition to another as desired.

The invention here is primarily concerned with the mounting arrangementfor a removable shelf in which the shelf or shelves are securely heldinthe door but can be readily removed and relocated in a differentposition or positions when desired;

The primary feature of this invention, therefore, is to provide animproved removable shelving arrangement for such a refrigerator doorcomprising a plurality of pairs of oppositely positioned bosses on theside walls of a refrigerator door cavity, the rear wall of the cavityhaving a plurality of spaced, substantially horizontal recesses thereineach being located rearwardly of and beneath a pair of bosses, a rearedge portion on the shelf bottom adapted to be releasably retained inone of these recesses, and means on the front portion engaging acorresponding pair of bosses for supporting the front of the shelf.

A more specific feature of this invention is to provide such anarrangement wherein the shelf is springy and is distorted to aid inretaining the shelf securely in position.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description of one embodiment thereof as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, of which: I

Fig. l is a front elevational view of the inside of a refrigerator doorillustrating the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 ofFig.- 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of*Fig. 1; a

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line 44of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the end portion of theshelf as shown in Fig. 2.

The refrigerator door in the accompanying drawings is supported by meansof hinges 11 on a refrigerator 12. The door comprises an inner recessedliner 13 and an outer shell 14. The liner and shell are attachedtogether as at 16.

The liner contains an upper chest assembly 17 and a lower chest assembly18 each provided with its own door. A rubber or the like, gasket 19 isprovided on the door to insure a tight seal when closed.

The liner 13 is formed with a pair of cavities 13a each having side 13band rear 130 Walls. Bosses 20 are on the side walls 13b with each pairbeing horizontally aligned. Each pair of bosses is adjacent to the frontof the side walls 13b. The bosses 20 are generally cube-shaped withinwardly extending projections 20a and 20b.

A plurality of spaced, elongated, substantially hori zontal recesses 21are located in the rear wall 13c of the liner. For each pair of bosses20 thereis one recess 21, and the recesses arearranged so as tocooperate. with a pair of horizontally aligned bosses 20 to support aremovable shelf 22. Each pair ofbosses. is adjacent to the front of acavity 13a and is above its corresponding recess 21.

The removable door shelf 22 is normally constructed of a springymaterial such as sheet metal or the like;

As is shown in Fig. 4 each shelf is substantially L-shaped': having anupstanding front portion 22a and a rearwardly' extending articlesupporting bottom portion 22b; The portion 22b is, of course, designedto support the stored articles while the upstanding portion 22a servesto retain the articles in place;

The rear portion 22c of the shelf is turned upon itself f as showninFig. 4 along substantially the entire length} thereof to form the opengenerally cylindrical-shaped portion 22d. This portion 22d is normallyinserted in 7 size that it a substantially the recess 21 and is of sucha fills the recess 21.

indicated at 22 and its outer edge rests on top of a boss 20 insupporting the front of the shelf. The rear of each widened portion isprovided with a downwardly extending portion 22g, as shown most clearlyin Fig. 4, with this portion 22g having a contour substantially similarto that of the upper rear tapered surface 200 on each boss 20. Thus theenlarged portion 22 of each end of the bead and the rear portion 22gconstitute a socket receiving the upper end of a boss 20 when the shelfis in position.

In order that the shelf will be securely held in position the front 22aand the bottom 22b of each shelf are distorted toward each other whenthe shelf is locked in position. As the shelf is a springy material suchas sheet metal, this distortion causes the bottom'of the bead 22d to bepressed against the bottom of its recess 21 and causes the downwardlyextending portions 22g on each socket 22f to be pressed securely againstthe tapered surface 20c. Because this surface 200 and the portion 22gare tapered forwardly and downwardly, the top of the shelf is securelyheld in position. This distortion of the front 22a and the bottom 22b ofeach shelf is brought about by constructing the shelf so that in itsfree unrestrained condition the front 22a and bottom 22b of each shelfare spaced apart a distance greater than that shown in Fig. 4.

With the shelving arrangement of this invention, each shelf is securelylocked in position by means of the natural springiness of the shelf.Also each shelf is easily removed from one position and reinstalled inanother position when such is desired. By supporting each shelf at itsrear edge and the sides of the upper front only, installation of a shelfis easier, faster and simpler.

Having described my invention as related to the embodiment shown in theaccompanying drawing, it is my intention that the invention be notlimited by any of the details of description unless otherwise specified,but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as set outin the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A removable shelving arrangement for a refrigerator door having aninner surface cavity with rear and side walls and a removable shelfhaving an article supporting bottom portion and an upstanding articleretaining front portion, comprising: a plurality of pairs of oppositelyPatented Mar. 21, 1961 upperends of said bosses, and having parts toclosely,

engagethe tapered rear surfaces of the bosses for supportingthe front ofsaid shelf and holding the shelf in place.

2. A removable shelving arrangement for a refrigerator door having aninner surface cavity with rear and side walls and a removable shelfhaving an article supporting,

bottom p ortion and an upstanding article retaining front portion,comprising: a plurality. of pairs of oppositely positioned bosses onsaid side. walls, each having an inwardly, recessed rear surface,thelrear wall having aplurality of spaced, substantially horizontalelongated recesses therein, a rear edge portion on said shelf bottomadapted to releasably engage one of said recesses; and a pair ofdownwardly opening socket portions at the edge of said shelf frontportion for engaging the tops of said bosses-each having a downwardlyextendingportion bearingagainst said rear surface, said shelf beingspringy with saidbottom and front being distorted towardeach other whenthe, shelf is in position, tov aid in retaining said rear edge portionin said recess and said sockets on said bosses.

3. A removable shelving arrangement for arefrigerator doorhavinganinner, surface cavity with rear and side walls and a removableshelf having, an articlesupporting 4 bottom portion and an upstandingarticle retaining fiont portion,- comprising: a plurality of pairs ofoppositely positioned bosses on said side walls, each having a rearsurface including a downwardly and forwardly tapered portion to form anotch, the rear wall of the cavity having a plurality of spaced,elongated, substantially horizontal recesses therein, having rearwardlyextending bottom surfaces, each recess being located rearwardly of andbeneath a corresponding pair of said bosses, an elongated rear edgeportion on said shelf bottom adapted to releasably engage one of saidrecesses; and a pair. of downwardly opening socket portions at the edgeofsaid shelf front portion for engaging the tops of said bosses, eachhaving a downwardly extending portion bearing against said rear surface,each of said downwardly extending portions terminating in a catch toengage the boss notches, said shelf being springy with said bottom andfront being distortedtoward each other when the shelf is in position toaid in retaining said rear edge portion in said recess and said socketson said bosses.

References Cited in due file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS.

1,818,404 Kaufman Aug. 11, 1931 2,461,219 Lew Feb. 8, 1949 2,686,703Nave Aug. 17, 1954 2,749,718 Saunders June 12, 1956 2,784,044 KurowskiMar. 5, 1957 2,852,328 Jewell Sept. 16, 1958

